Hajj & Umrah Pilgrimage Meningitis Vaccination

Kamsons Pharmacy in Crawley provides a private vaccination service for Meningitis for those people visiting Saudi Arabia (Hajj & Umrah).

Visitors from any country arriving for Hajj pilgrimage and Umrah, or for seasonal work, are required to produce a certificate of vaccination against meningococcal meningitis infection ACWY. Both polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines are acceptable for visa purposes, but use of conjugate is recommended:

• Conjugate vaccine - single dose to be given not more than 8 years and not less than 10 days prior to arrival in Saudi Arabia.

• Polysaccharide vaccine - single dose to be given not more than 3 years and no less than 10 days prior to arrival in Saudi Arabia.

• All arrivals from countries within the African Meningitis Belt (Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Chad; Central African Republic; Cote d'Ivoire; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gambia; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Mali; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal, Sudan and South Sudan) will also be administered antibiotic treatment at the point of entry as an added precaution.

In the UK, visas will not be issued unless proof of vaccination, at least 10 days prior to the expected date of entry, is submitted with the visa application.
The Saudi Ministry of Health recommends seasonal influenza vaccine for Hajj attendees before arrival, especially for those at increased risk e.g. pregnant women, children over 5 years, the elderly, those with chronic chest or heart disease, diabetes or immunosuppression.